The last weekend of May is eagerly awaited by city residents and guests for the major annual celebration of Kyiv Days.
The very first festival took place in 1982 to honor the 1,500th anniversary since the founding of the capital, but it didn’t become an official annual holiday until 1987. Celebrated on May 29-30 this year, it will bring fun and festivities to many streets and locations in the capital.
The party will begin on May 29 with a bicyclists’ parade (9.30 – 10:45 a.m.) Cyclists will start at European Square (Yevropeyska Ploshcha) and ride down Khreshchatyk, Chervonoarmiyska, Ploshcha Lva Tolstoho and Volodymyrska streets, finishing at Mykhaylivska Ploshcha. The parade will be followed by an international bicycle racing competition to start at 11 a.m. on Khreshchatyk.
The route will take cyclists along Khreshchatyk, Chervonoarmiyska and Lva Tolstoho Ploshcha, ending on Yevropeyska Ploshcha.
A young firefighters’ festival will be held at Druzhby Narodiv Arch at noon, while a sailing regatta tournament will open at Obolon Bay (3 Pryrichna) at the same time. Bikers will roar down Khreshchatyk during the “Kyiv Bike-Show 2010” and stuntmen will shock audiences with their tricks on Maidan Nezalezhnosti from 1 p.m. till 3 p.m. Fans of choir singing shouldn’t miss “Song Over Dnipro” festival on Spivoche Pole, 3 p.m. till 8 p.m.
“Run Under Chestnuts” is a traditional charity run that takes place anually on Kyiv Days, and last year was no exception. This year the marathon will begin on the early morning of May 30. (Yaroslav Debelyi)
The festivities on May 30 will kick off at 8:30 a.m. with a traditional charity “Run Under Chestnuts” from Maidan Nezalezhnosti to Khreshchatyk Street, then along Ploshcha Lva Tolstoho, Chervonoarmiyska Street and back. Some of the best rollerblading athletes will show off their skills at a marathon to be held on Khreshchatyk at 11 a.m. One more sports event, an international kickboxing tournament, will take place next to Druzhby Narodiv Arch at 5 p.m. For milder entertainment, head to Spivoche Pole, where children will demonstrate their art works at a “Sunny Chestnut” charity festival at 1 p.m.
Finally, the highlight of the two-day celebrations, an open-air concert, will open on Maidan Nezalezhnosti at 7 p.m. on May 30. The lineup features a selection of girl bands – Domino, Zaklyopki, Nikita and Alibi, one girl-and-boy pop duet – Para Normalnykh, solo pop performers – Vasyl Lazarovych, Mila Nitich and Yulia Voice, as well as humorous rock from TIK and romantic ballads from Skay band. As usual, the party will close with fireworks to go up simultaneously on Maidan Nezalezhnosti, Kontraktova Ploshcha, Obolobnska Naberezhna and Yevropeyska Ploshcha.
Among other special Kyiv Day events is a kite festival, taking place at 11 a.m. on May 29 in Pirogovo openair museum outside of Kyiv; a folk arts exhibition and fair at Ivana Honchara Museum (29 Mazepy, 288-5419) and a shashlyk festival on Dniprovska Naberezhna on May 29. If you’re ready to take a ride out to the country, you may spend Kyiv Days in the Kyivan Rus Park, just 30 kilometers outside Kyiv, that will offer special entertainment on May 29-30.
Guests will have a chance to learn the history of Kyiv from its origins till the modern days through a theatrical show, stuntmen performances and historical costume shows. In the evening you’ll be treated to a full-scale rock concert featuring a massive lineup of rock bands from Kyiv, Vinnytsya and Odesa: Grazhdanin Topinambur, Bila Vezha, Sunrise, Dimicandum, Tsarske Selo, In Tim, Witch Hunter, Neverseen, Troada, Dinois, Audiobay and others.
You can read more about Kyiv days on the official website of the city administration at http://day.kmv.gov.ua/en.
